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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29436192">Things To Do Before a Party</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LCampbellFE/pseuds/LCampbellFE'>LCampbellFE</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety, Comedy, Introversion, Introvert, List, Original work - Freeform, Social Anxiety</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:48:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>706</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29436192</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LCampbellFE/pseuds/LCampbellFE</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This piece is proof that I don't always write depressing stories (lol). I focused on my feelings of anxiety and social anxiety when I wrote this and the tics that I have while being anxious. </p>
<p>This is another piece I wrote in my second year of university back in 2017.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Things To Do Before a Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>     Look at that! You’ve actually been invited to a party! Now don’t start to panic. Here’s a list to help you figure out what to do:</i>
</p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>1.</b> Panic. You’ve been to what, three parties at most? They were ones in high school where everyone just wanted to drink because they were underage and “it’s more fun that way”. Nothing’s fun when it’s legal right? </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>2.</b> Start to think of excuses so you don’t have to go. Sadly, you’re an adult now so you can’t use “my mom said ‘no’ so I can’t go” as an easy way out. You don’t have a job either, so you can’t use that. Try saying that you don’t have a ride.</p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>3.</b> Your friend offers to drive you. Great. So kind of them. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>4.</b> Come to terms with the fact that you’re going to this party or everyone will hate you. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>5.</b> Panic. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>6.</b> Overthink everything! Overthinking will really make you feel better about going to this party with people you’ve never met and probably won’t ever talk to again. You’ll avoid them like the plague later to forget ever going to this party. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>7.</b> Pick out what you’re going to wear. No, not that. Not that either. Definitely not that shirt. Bad things are planned in your future with that shirt. Just pick something simple and easy - not that though. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>8.</b> Check your phone for the 20th time in the past half hour. It’s still 4:30 p.m., the party is still at 9:00 p.m., and your friend is still picking you up at 8:45p.m. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>9.</b> Make sure to charge your phone too so you can play solitaire or something instead of talking to people at the party. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>10.</b> Check your phone again for the time just in case. Even though it’s only been 30 seconds since you last checked it and it’s still 4:30. Time is a weird thing. Twenty minutes could have gone by in those 30 seconds. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>11.</b> Try distracting yourself with YouTube. Watch that music video you like. Now watch it again. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>12.</b> Pray that your friend magically gets sick so you don’t have to go to this party. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>13.</b> Attempt doing some of your school work for university, but repeatedly get distracted because you keep overthinking. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>14.</b> Watch a couple dog videos on YouTube. Especially that one that has that super cute Bernese Mountain Dog puppy playing with a lemon. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>15.</b> Notice that you’ve been picking at the skin around your fingers for hours and that it really hurts. Continue to pick at them even when they bleed. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>16.</b> Get distracted by videos and end up watching ones about how the government is planning to kill us all. Laugh at how stupid they are and how it could never happen. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>17.</b> Consider that they might really be planning to kill us all.  </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>18.</b> Check your phone again for the time. Oh, look at that. It’s 5:45. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>19.</b> Stress eat? Definitely do that. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>20.</b> Attempt to have a nap, but your mind is buzzing with so many thoughts that you end up more nervous for this party than before. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>21.</b> Do some breathing exercises to try to calm yourself down. In… Out… In… Out… </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>22.</b> Realize that breathing slowly helped you. Call yourself an idiot for not doing it your entire wait time. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>23.</b> Congrats! It’s finally 8:45! You’ve made it! But your friend hasn’t shown up yet and they haven’t texted to say that they would be late. You would know because you checked your phone 15 seconds ago just in case their text tone didn’t go off. Phones aren’t reliable you know. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>24.</b> Start to overthink again. Consider all the horrible things that could have happened to your friend on their way here. Maybe they got into a car accident. Maybe they were driving along the road and a plane crashed right on top of them, killing them in some horrible way. Anything is possible. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><b>25.</b> Oh never mind. They’re at the door. </p>
<p>     </p>
<p><i>     Now try to have fun at the party!  See part 2 on “Things To Do At A Party So You Don’t Have To Interact With Anyone” in case you have any troubles. </i> </p>
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